Inessiivivorm

Inessiivivorm, or inessive form, is the Finnish locative case used to indicate location inside something. It answers the question missä? (where is X?) and describes a static position rather than a movement.

Formation and variants: The inessive suffixes are -ssa/-ssä for singular nouns and -issa/-issä for plural nouns. The choice between -ssa and -ssä (and between -issa and -issä) follows vowel harmony, aligning with the stem’s last vowel. For most stems, the suffix attaches directly to the stem, with no separate preposition. Examples: talo → talossa (in the house); kissa → kissassa (in the cat); kauppa → kaupassa (in the shop). Plural: talot → taloissa (in the houses); kissat → kissoissa (in the cats); kaupungi → kaupungissa? For plural cities: kaupungit → kaupungeissa (in the cities).

Usage and scope: The inessive describes being inside a location, such as a place, a room, or a container, e.g., hän on talossa (he is in the house), kahvissa (in the coffee). It is used with concrete spaces and, in many cases, with abstract locations as well (for example, a state or position within a larger system). It contrasts with other locative cases that express movement (illative), source (elative, ablative), or surface contact (adessive).

Relation to other cases: The inessive is part of a set of locative cases in Finnish. It pairs with elative (from inside) and illative (into) to express directional or locational nuances, while the adjacently related essive and translative offer a state or change of state, respectively.